Our scouts on the Whitewater trip arrived safely around 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. Camp Daniel Boone, near Asheville, North Carolina, is beautiful with a great lake and a creek running alongside the campsite. Scout tents were already set up at the site with wood floors and two cots per tent. There is no cell service at their remote site, so we may not be getting further updates.

CORRECTION TO PREVIOUS NOTICE: The high adventure crew will be prepping the trailer on Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. at RPC (NOT at Johnson’s). There will be a brief meeting for scouts and parents at 8:00 p.m.

A couple of months ago we surveyed the troop regarding High Adventure preference and a Whitewater rafting trek received the highest number of votes. You are receiving this email as your scout ranked Whitewater in their top 3 choices.

As you may have seen on Feedblitz the troop has secured a reservation for a week-long trek in the Smokey Mountains – July 27 to August 2. The trek is run through the BSA Daniel Boone Scout Reservation for a very reasonable price of $475. (This camp filled up immediately when it opened registration in October. We were lucky to get a spot.) The price includes 5 days of guided rafting on Class II-V rapids, camping gear, and food. Transportation will be additional but we are trying to find cost effective options. At this point we are estimating $700 to $900 Total for the cost per person.

In order to make this happen we need 10 scouts and 2 leaders to commit to the trek no later than January 5 as the first installment payment is due by January 15.

At this point we have 2 scouts and 1 leader committed to the trek. We have the possibility of taking a smaller crew of 6-7 scouts but we need commitment before we can even investigate this option.

Monday trip on the Nantahala River

Our older scouts have been meeting to discuss possible high adventure outings. After a survey of parents and scouts, the first choice was a whitewater rafting trip. Fortunately, we have been able to reserve one week at BSA Camp Daniel Boone in Asheville, North Carolina, for July 27 through August 2, 2014. All participants must be First Class or above, have graduated from 8th grade, and have previously attended a summer camp with Troop 24. Participants will be required to pass a swim test, and should be strong swimmers.

They require a minimum of 12 participants on the crew so we would need 10 scouts and 2 leaders to commit. We must have commitments by December 30 for the event to go forward.

The trek itself is $475 per person for the week. With transportation, extra meals during travel, and miscellaneous expenses, we estimate the cost to be $700-$900 total per person (variation in cost depends on transportation costs, and whether we fly or drive). We will collect the cost in 3 installments, with the first $175 due by December 30, an additional $250 due on March 1, and the balance due on May 1.

More information is available at:
http://www.campdanielboone.org/HighAdventure/RaftingCanoeingTreks/WhitewaterAdventureTrek.aspx

The whitewater trip does not conflict with our regular summer camp at Tesomas, which is July 13-19. Scouts can attend both.

Ready to sign up? You can do so here: http://troop24riverside.com/2013/12/6083/

Have more questions? Contact Kent Johnson at kentjohnson@ameritech.net.

Sign-up is now closed for Whitewater Rafting.

Parents of older scouts: We need your input on high adventure outings. There is a strong belief in scouting that troops that offer High Adventure opportunities have a higher rate of participation and are more likely to retain older scouts. However, High Adventure treks are more expensive than traditional summer camp, involve significant advance preparation, and require dedicated adult leader commitment.

High Adventure treks are typically 1-2 week wilderness adventures such as backpacking in remote areas, rock climbing, scuba diving, canoeing or kayaking, or whitewater rafting. Scouts must be 14 years old or be 13 and have completed 8th grade in order to participate.

PLEASE take 5 minutes to fill it out a survey to provide input on high adventure interests. Take the survey here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Tqou0QGHTXVnuqxZAR3P9jiSQfoPaH3tO-hMDgwU5nI/viewform

The older scouts will be discussing this at the meeting on October 24, so please complete the survey TODAY. This will help us determine the number of scouts and leaders with high interest or commitment, trek preferences, and will allow us to evaluate our options.